Page:Life of Henry Clay (Schurz; v. 1).djvu/393

Rh talent of the country, sought to make a campaign of argument, and flooded the country with addresses, pamphlets, and printed campaign matter of all kinds. The United States Bank itself did its share of the work. But this kind of effort failed to reach the large class of voters, then much larger than now, who were not “reading people.” The Jackson party trusted more to speeches, meetings, and processions. The figure of the “old hero,” grown to greater proportions than ever since he was engaged in his struggle against the “monster monopoly,” exercised a wonderful charm over the popular imagination, — a charm against which all the learned arguments about the usefulness of the Bank of the United States and its constitutionality, and the abuse of the veto power, availed nothing. Before the eyes of the masses Jackson appeared as a St. George killing the dragon, and as the invincible champion of “hard cash,” of the “yellow boys,” driving out “Old Nick's money” and “Clay's rags.” Further, the country was made to ring with the old “bargain and corruption” charge, revived to do new service.

At a late period of the campaign the hopes of the Clay party were highly excited by the defection of the New York “Courier and Enquirer,” under James Watson Webb, and of several other newspapers which turned from Jackson to Clay. The National Republicans became extremely sanguine of success. So much the more terrible was their disappointment when the returns of the election